Butler State Swim gives free lessons for Learn2Swim Week

BUTLER State Swim is offering free swimming lessons in Learn2Swim Week for children under five, in a bid to kerb childhood drowning. Thomas Senkbeil from Poolwerx Mindarie, the company behind the week-long event, urged parents to take advantage of the free swimming lessons for their under-fives.

“Last year there were tragically 29 drowning deaths in children aged 0-4 years, with three quarters of these deaths resulting from a fall into the water,” he said.

“That is why it is so important to familiarise kids with water at an early age and swimming lessons can provide under-fives with the lifesaving skills they need to know to get themselves out of trouble.”

Mr Senkbeil said Learn2Swim Week, from October 2 to 9, helped to get the message across to parents that children can begin water familiarisation lessons from as early as four to six months old.

“Our survey of parents who participated in Learn2Swim Week last year showed that 60 per cent went on to enrol their under-fives in regular swimming lessons,” he said.

“The free swimming lessons our local swim schools are providing during Learn2Swim Week give parents the opportunity to get their under-fives familiar with water and see firsthand the benefits of teaching them lifesaving water skills.”

Laurie Lawrence from Kids Alive – Do the Five is the program ambassador and said the campaign had involved more swim schools in each of the four years it had been running.

“Local swim schools like Butler State Swim are helping us to reach our goal of zero drownings in under-fives,” he said.